Tuesday, March 10, 2009

He's given us Disneyland...

I’m finally getting around to journaling about our fabulous DISNEYLAND trip! Several weeks ago, Jeremy won a contest at work that gave him a $1,500 travel card!! He had some time off work, so we decided to surprise the kids with a drive down to Disney. I should mention that when Graci was still in China, we sent her some pictures of our family at Disneyworld. Apparently, she thought that was a common event in our family, and the day we met her she promptly told the guide, “Tell them I want to go to Disneyland and McDonalds.” (: We explained that Disneyland was very expensive and that it would be awhile (not to mention that she needed her heart fixed first). She hasn’t been too happy with us regarding the matter, so you can imagine her joy when we packed up the van, checked them out of school early, and announced that we were on our way to Disneyland! Such precious memories. We had three full days at Disney and Disney’s California Adventure. The weather was perfect! We had been worried about how Elli would do with all of the driving and disruption of schedule, but she was WONDERFUL! She was so happy and loved all the rides. And, thanks to her, we were able to bypass many of the long lines. Because she is blind (and essentially autistic) they let us use the fastpass lane for every ride and count her stroller as a wheelchair. Thank-you, Elli! Because of this we were able to do in three days what we might have done in five. She LOVED most of the rides—especially the big rollercoasters. Our family’s favorite ride was “Soarin’.” We went on it several times and it was so fun to see Elli get so excited and giggle each time. She even braved “The Tower of Terror” and was totally laughing on it. Fun, fun times. I think one of the cutest moments came when Jesi asked to go on "Little Word" again. (: The highlight of the trip for Graci was on Friday, where Dad had lined up a special surprise just for her. He surprised her by taking her on a “Daddy date” to eat breakfast with—you guessed it—Stitch! She’s still talking about it!

My favorite part of the entire trip was how grateful our Taylor was. Probably at least five or six times a day he would come up to me and give me a hug or hold my hand and say, “Thanks, Mom. You are the best EVER!” He was so sweet and so patient and wonderful, even when we were doing things for the younger kids. The other kids were very good too, but Taylor was just particularly grateful. Later on, I was telling my sister, Becky, about how one of our other darling children had a few complaining moments and I was just like, “Come on!!!! You are at DISNEYLAND!! Do you even get how blessed you are?” As I told her this, she responded with a very wise thought. She said, “I wonder if that’s how Heavenly Father feels about us sometimes. He gives us so much and we focus on the negative.” I have thought so much about that since then. Truly, our Father in Heaven has given us Disneyland! I mean, really—our life is Disneyland! We have the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have a beautiful home, we have enough money to pay the bills and some left over for fun family things, we have absolutely incredible children, we have freedom—we have so very much! He has given us the time of our lives, and it’s so easy to complain about not going on the ride we wanted, or that our feet hurt, or that we want another churro and it costs too much. I’m not sure if I’m explaining well what I mean, but I guess what it comes down to is that I have been reminded what a blessed life I lead. And that my Father would probably like to know that I appreciate it. That He won’t tire of hearing it many times a day. Thank-you, our darling first-born, for your sweet example and reminder of how we should be.

On another note, that same sweet boy sure caused us some grief on the drive home! (: It was very late, maybe one in the morning, and we still had over an hour to go. Jessica had just made a big mess that we had to pull over and take care of. As soon as we got back on the road, Taylor woke up crying and saying that his head was hurting. We gave him some Ibuprofen, but he was still upset. Then we heard the most horrible sound… You guessed it—he had thrown up, EVERYWHERE. I mean, he was covered in it, the van was covered, the leapsters and toys and games on the floor were covered. It was indescribable. Should I mention that Taylor had just had a Subway sandwich with extra pickles? I looked over at Jeremy and could tell he was “that close” to losing it. There would be no help from him. So we pulled over and I got out of the van to see what I could do. It was freezing cold outside and we didn’t have our coats, we’re on the side of the freeway entrance, and I’m thinking, “Where do I even start?” I finally had him take off his clothes and just put a blanket over the whole mess so I could deal with it later. He handed me an empty box of Cap’n Crunch that had throw-up on it. I asked Jeremy just what I was supposed to do with it, and we decided we would have to drive and find a garbage. I was trying to be good by not just leaving it on the side of the road. My reward for not littering? As I held it in my lap, I soon realized that there was throw-up INSIDE the box, and it was leaking all over my pants. I wanted to scream—in fact, I probably did. It was all such a nightmare—we were so tired and the van smelled so awful and it felt like we would never make it home! In fact, I think by the time I cleaned everything up that night and crawled into my bed, it was past four a.m. Fun, fun. Still, I smile thinking of it and it was a small price to pay for such an amazing trip. (And it didn’t hold a candle to what we had to deal with from Elli later that week, but that’s a different story…) (: (: (:

7 comments:

Oh, my goodness! So many thoughts...Soarin is my favorite memory of DW. Connor wouldn't stop laughing. :) I'm going to have Trip read about your fun trip back. Just this morning Trip found Chase in a fun mess and he just about lost it. Poor Taylor! Poor YOU!!! Oh, I miss you! So glad you had such a fun trip.

Thanks for the great analogy re: God giving us Disneyland. Of course, your final story made me realize God also gave us vomit, so it's not ALL rides and fun now, is it? Your kids are too cute for words!

Love the photos and especially the ones of Graci and Stitch. And Elli is getting so big! And I am surprised that she loves the rides so much! And the fastpass lane? Big score! And your boys? Such wonderful brothers. And dear Jesi...her smile and hat? Priceless.

Meet Conner and Cali

When we fell in love 15 years ago, we started down a path that has been challenging, exhausting, and breathtakingly beautiful. Here we chronicle the blessings and stressings of parenting some pretty amazing children. We think they're the perfect travel companions as we look forward to the next fork in the road. Welcome to our journey.

Jeremy and Christianne

Taylor Jeremy--16

Parker Matthew--14

The red-headed social butterfly, he's our all-star athlete, top student, outdoor-loving, spunky second-born, with a heart of pure gold!

Jessica Anne "Jesi"--12

Our little princess with the big smile, Jesi loves dress-ups and tea parties, reading, playing with her siblings, and snuggling. She sparkles!

Jacob Michael-- 6/8/2004

Little one of heavenly birth, born too soon to bloom on earth. You have taught us so much--we love you, Jacob!

Emily Anne "Emmy"--9/28/2005

Emily's exquisite little hands and feet have left their mark in this world. Her body was tiny, but her spirit enormous. We miss her!

Elizabeth Mei "Elli"--10

Elli's world may be dark, but she's the light of our lives! Lover of music, chocolate, and Mommy's arms, she brings joy to all who know her!!

Gracelin Kate "Graci"--17

Showing true grace throughout her battles with heart disease and pulmonary hypertension, our Gracester is loved by everyone! She's smart, gorgeous, friendly, and has faith to move mountains!

Alexander Philip "Xander"--10

With a spunk and smile that could outmatch anyone's, our Xander has not let Cloves Syndrome get the best of him. Adopted at age 4 from China, he loves having a family, eating junk-food, and playing with his many friends!

Alexis Li "Lexi"--10

Meet the friendliest girl on the planet! Blind from birth, Lexi amazes all of us with her braille skills, determination, talents, but mosly by the way she spends her days SMILING. She is an angel in every way. We are thrilled to have our darling daughter home three years from China!!

Sophia Breanne "Sophi"--6

Her eyes called out to us from half-way around the world. Little Sophi is beautiful, smart, and coy. She can do amazing things with her little toes and we think she's about the cutest thing on the planet! Welcome home, baby girl!

Calais Rose "Cali"--14

Charming Cali joined our family in December of 2012. This girl is beautiful both inside and out. Born with spina bifida, Cali is confined to a wheelchair, but that does not keep her from enjoying life to the fullest. She is smart, opinionated, strong, and lovely in every way.

Conner Allen-- 15

Meet our newest addition! Wu Jia Xia is from Wuhan City in China. Blind from birth, he will blow you away with his incredible talent on the piano. More importantly, we are told he is sweet, compassionate, hard working and ready for a FAMILY of his own. We can't wait to get our arms around you, Conner!